Spinach variety nun 06258 sps

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a new and distinct hybrid variety of Spinach, NUN 06258 SPS as well as seeds and plants and leaves thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/531,373, filed Jul. 12, 2017 and of U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/582,999, filed Nov. 8, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of NUN 06258 SPS (also designated asNUN 06258 or NUN 06258 F1 or NUN 06258 hybrid). The invention furtherrelates to vegetative reproductions of NUN 06258 SPS, methods for tissueculture of NUN 06258 SPS and regenerating a plant from such a tissueculture and also to phenotypic variants of NUN 06258 SPS.

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include greateryield, resistance to insects or pests, tolerance to heat and drought,better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, growth rate and leafproperties.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: self-pollination andcross-pollination.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different varieties produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines are evaluatedto determine which of those have commercial potential.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the familyAmaranthaceae. Spinach is an annual plant (rarely biennial) havingflowers that mature into a small hard dry lumpy fruit cluster about 5-10mm across containing several seeds.

Spinach has two stages in its life cycle including the vegetative,rosette stage in which the plant is marketable (about 35-40 days) andthe bolting, seed stalk stage in which the plant is no longermarketable. Spinach can grow in a range of soils as long as they aremoist and fertile, and particularly sandy loams that are high in organicmatter.

While breeding efforts to date have provided a number of useful spinachlines with beneficial traits, there remains a great need in the art fornew varieties with further improved traits. Such plants would benefitfarmers and consumers alike by improving crop yields and/or quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the invention, a seed of Spinach variety NUN 06258 SPSis provided, wherein a representative sample of said seed will bedeposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967. The invention alsoprovides for a plurality of seeds of NUN 06258 SPS. The Spinach seed ofNUN 06258 SPS may be provided as an essentially homogeneous populationof Spinach seed. Therefore, seed of the invention may be defined asforming at least about 97% of the total seed, including at least about98%, 99% or more of the seed. The population of seed of NUN 06258 SPSmay be particularly defined as being essentially free from other seed.The seed population may be grown into plants to provide an essentiallyhomogeneous population of Spinach plants according to the invention.

Also encompassed is a plant grown from a seed of Spinach variety NUN06258 SPS and a plant part thereof. In another aspect the inventionprovides for a hybrid variety of Spinach called NUN 06258 SPS. Theinvention also provides for a progeny of NUN 06258 SPS. Especially, aplant or a progeny retaining all or all but one, two or three of the“distinguishing characteristics” or all or all but one, two or three ofthe “morphological and physiological characteristics” of NUN 06258 SPSreferred to herein, is encompassed herein as well as methods forproducing that plant or progeny.

In one aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention have all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 06258 SPSwhen grown under the same environmental conditions. In another aspectsuch a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two or three ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPSwhen measured under the same environmental conditions and evaluated atsignificance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance (which can also beexpressed as a p-value) wherein a representative sample of seed ofvariety NUN 06258 SPS will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42967. In a second aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention haveall the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN06258 SPS when grown under the same environmental conditions. In anotheraspect such a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two orthree of the physiological and morphological characteristics as listedin Table 1 and/or 2 for variety NUN 06258 SPS when measured under thesame environmental conditions and evaluated at significance levels of1%, 5% or 10% significance.

In another aspect a plant of NUN 06258 SPS or said progeny plants has 7,8, or more or all of the distinguishing characteristics: 1) Typicalshape of first foliage leaf; 2) Typical shape of first foliage leafbase; 3) Average leaf petiole diameter at prime market stage; 4) Averageplant spread; 5) Average cotyledon length; 6) Average first foliage leaflength; 7) Average first foliage leaf width; 8) Typical leaf bladelobing; 9) Typical leaf blade attitude; and 10) Typical intensity ofleaf blade green color. NUN 06258 SPS is a variety primarily intendedfor the baby leaf/fresh market.

Also a plant part obtained from variety NUN 06258 SPS is provided,wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of: aleaf, a harvested leaf, a part of a leaf, a fruit, a part of a fruit,pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stemor a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, aseed, a part of a seed, seed coat or another maternal tissue which ispart of a seed grown on said varieties, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, astock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.Leaves are particularly important plant parts. In a further embodiment,the plant part obtained from variety NUN 06258 SPS is a cell, optionallya cell in a cell or tissue culture. That cell may be grown into a plantof NUN 06258 SPS.

The invention also provides a cell culture of NUN 06258 SPS and a plantregenerated from NUN 06258 SPS, which plant has all the characteristicsof NUN 06258 SPS when grown under the same environmental conditions, aswell as methods for regenerating NUN 06258 SPS. Alternatively, aregenerated plant may have one characteristic that is different from NUN06258 SPS.

Further, a vegetatively propagated plant of variety NUN 06258 SPS isprovided having all or all but one, two or three of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics NUN 06258 SPS when grown under thesame environmental conditions.

Further, a Spinach leaf produced on a plant grown from a seed of NUN06258 SPS is provided.

In still another aspect, a seed growing or grown on a plant of NUN 06258SPS is provided (i.e. produced after pollination of the flower of NUN06258 SPS).

Definitions

All patent and non-patent documents cited herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety

“Spinach” refers herein to plants of the species Spinacia oleracea, andleaves thereof. The most commonly eaten part of a spinach is the leaf

“Cultivated spinach” refers to plants of Spinacia oleracea L, i.e.varieties, breeding lines or cultivars of the species Spinacia oleraceaL, cultivated by humans and having good agronomic characteristics;preferably such plants are not “wild plants”, i.e. plants whichgenerally have much poorer yields and poorer agronomic characteristicsthan cultivated plants and e.g. grow naturally in wild populations.“Wild plants” include for example ecotypes, P1 (Plant Introduction)lines, landraces or wild accessions or wild relatives of a species.

The terms “Spinach plant designated NUN 06258 SPS”, “NUN 06258 SPS”,“NUN 06258”, “NUN 06258 F1”, “06258 SPS” or “Spinach 06258” are usedinterchangeably herein and refer to a Spinach plant of variety NUN 06258SPS, representative seed of which will be deposited under AccessionNumber NCIMB 42967.

A “seed of NUN 06258 SPS” refers to a Spinach seed which can be growninto a plant of NUN 06258 SPS wherein a representative sample of viableseed of NUN 06258 SPS will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42967. A seed can be in any stage of maturity, for example a mature,viable seed, or an immature, non-viable seed. A seed comprises an embryoand maternal tissues.

An “embryo of NUN 06258 SPS” refers to an “F1 hybrid embryo” as presentin a seed of NUN 06258 SPS, a representative sample of said seed of NUN06258 SPS will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967.

A “seed grown on NUN 06258 SPS” refers to a seed grown on a mature plantof NUN 06258 SPS or inside a fruit of NUN 06258 SPS. The “seed grown onNUN 06258 SPS” contains tissues and DNA of the maternal parent, NUN06258 SPS, for example the seed coat. The “seed grown on NUN 06258 SPS”contains an F2 embryo. When said seed is planted, it grows into a firstgeneration progeny plant of NUN 06258 SPS.

“Tissue culture” or “cell culture” refers to a composition comprisingisolated cells of the same or a different type or a collection of suchcells organized into parts of a plant. Tissue culture of various tissuesof spinach and regeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widelypublished (see, e.g., Ren et al., In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.-Plant (2013)49:223-229; Colijn-Hooymans (1994), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture39: 211-217). Similarly, the skilled person is well-aware how to preparea “tissue culture” or “cell culture”.

“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described forspinach in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness,Uniformity and Stability, TG104/5 (Geneva, as last revised in 2016), aspublished by UPOV (International Union for the Protection of NewVarieties and Plants,) and which can be downloaded from the world wideweb at upov.int/ and is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

“USDA descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described forspinach in the “Objective description of Variety Spinach Spinaciaoleracea L.)”, ST-470-83 as published by the US Department ofAgriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Plant Variety ProtectionOffice, Beltsville, Md. 20705 and which can be downloaded from the worldwide web at ams.usda.gov/ under sites/default/files/media/83-Spinach%20ST-470-83%202015.pdf. The skilled person must grow a plant tomaturity to measure all or nearly all USDA descriptors of a plant.“Non-USDA descriptors” are other descriptors suitable for describingspinach.

“RHS” refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England whichpublishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifyingcolors according to a defined numbering system. The chart may bepurchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd RHS Garden;Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK, e.g., the RHS color chart: 2007 (TheRoyal Horticultural Society, charity No: 222879, PO Box 313 LondonSW1P2PE.

As used herein and except as otherwise indicated, the term “plant”includes the whole plant or any part thereof, preferably having the samegenetic makeup as the plant from which it is obtained, such as a plantorgan (e.g. harvested or non-harvested leaves), a plant cell, a plantprotoplast, a plant cell tissue culture or a tissue culture from which awhole plant can be regenerated, a plant cell that is intact in a plant,a clone, a micropropagation, plant callus, a plant cell clump, a planttransplant, a vegetative propagation, a seedling, or parts of a plant(e.g. harvested tissues or organs), such as a fruit, a harvested fruit,a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, anembryo, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof,a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed, a part of aseed, seed coat or another maternal tissue which is part of a seed grownon a variety of the invention, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a graft, astock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or parts of any ofthese and the like. Also any developmental stage is included, such asseedlings, cuttings prior or after rooting, mature plants or leaves.Alternatively, a plant part may also include a plant seed whichcomprises one or two sets of chromosomes derived from the parent plant,e.g. from NUN 06258 SPS. An F2 progeny produced from self-pollination ofNUN 06258 SPS will thus comprise two sets of chromosomes derived fromNUN 06258 SPS, while an F2 progeny derived from cross-fertilization ofNUN 06258 SPS will comprise only one set of chromosomes from NUN 06258SPS and the other set of chromosomes from the other parent.

“Harvested plant material” refers herein to a plant part (e.g. a leafdetached from the whole plant) which has been collected for furtherstorage and/or further use.

“Reference Variety” or “check variety” refers herein to variety Antalia,a commercial variety from Nunhems B.V., which has been planted in atrial together with NUN 06258 SPS. USDA descriptors of NUN 06258 SPSwere compared to the USDA descriptors and other characteristics ofAntalia.

A plant having “all the physiological and morphological characteristics”of a referred-to-plant means a plant showing the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the referred-to-plant when grown underthe same environmental conditions, preferably in the same experiment;the referred-to-plant can be a plant from which it was derived, e.g. theprogenitor plant, the parent, the recurrent parent, the plant used fortissue- or cell culture, etc. A physiological or morphologicalcharacteristic can be a numerical characteristic or a non-numericalcharacteristic. In one aspect, a plant has “all but one, two or three ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics” of areferred-to-plant, or “all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics” of Table 1 and/or 2 or “all or all but one, two orthree of the physiological and morphological characteristics” of Table 1and/or 2.

The physiological and/or morphological characteristics mentioned aboveare commonly evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% if theyare numerical, or for having an identical degree (or type) if notnumerical, if measured under the same environmental conditions. Forexample, a progeny plant or a Single Locus Converted plant or a mutatedplant of NUN 06258 SPS may have one or more (or all) of the essentialphysiological and/or morphological characteristics of said varietylisted in Table 1 and/or 2, as determined at the 5% significance level(i.e. p<0.05) when grown under the same environmental conditions.

“Distinguishing characteristics” or “distinguishing morphological and/orphysiological characteristics” refers herein to the characteristicswhich distinguish (i.e. are different) between the new variety and otherSpinach varieties, such as the Reference Variety, when grown under thesame environmental conditions. The distinguishing characteristicsbetween NUN 06258 SPS and Reference Variety are described elsewhereherein and also can be seen in Table 1 and/or Table 2. When comparingNUN 06258 SPS with different varieties, the distinguishingcharacteristics will be different. In one aspect, the distinguishingcharacteristics may therefore include at least one, two, three or more(or all) of the characteristics listed in Table 1 and/or 2 and/or 3. Allnumerical distinguishing characteristics are statistically significantlydifferent at p<0.05 between NUN 06258 SPS and the other variety, e.g.Reference Variety.

NUN 06258 SPS has the following distinguishing characteristics whencompared to the Reference Variety: 1) Typical shape of first foliageleaf; 2) Typical shape of first foliage leaf base; 3) Average leafpetiole diameter at prime market stage; 4) Average plant spread; 5)Average cotyledon length; 6) Average first foliage leaf length; 7)Average first foliage leaf width; 8) Typical leaf blade lobing; 9)Typical leaf blade attitude; and 10) Typical intensity of leaf bladegreen color. This can be seen in for example Table 1 and 3, where theUSDA and UPOV characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS are compared to thecharacteristics of Reference Variety Antalia.

Thus, a Spinach plant “comprising the distinguishing characteristics ofNUN 06258 SPS (such as a progeny plant) refers herein to a plant whichdoes not differ significantly from said variety in the distinguishingcharacteristics above. Therefore in one aspect a plant (such as aprogeny plant of NUN 06258 SPS) is provided which does not differsignificantly from NUN 06258 SPS in the distinguishing characteristicsabove.

Similarity and differences between two different plant lines orvarieties can be determined by comparing the number of morphologicaland/or physiological characteristics (e.g. the characteristics as listedin Table 1 and/or 2) that are the same (i.e. statistically notsignificantly different) or that are different (i.e. statisticallysignificantly different) between the two plant lines or varieties whengrown under the same environmental conditions. A numericalcharacteristic is considered to be “the same” when the value for anumeric characteristic is not significantly different at the 1% (p<0.01)or 5% (p<0.05) significance level, using one way Analysis of variance(ANOVA), a standard method known to the skilled person. Non-numerical or“degree” or “type” characteristic are considered “the same” when thevalues have the same “degree” or “type” when scored using USDA and/orUPOV descriptors, if the plants are grown under the same environmentalconditions.

As used herein, the term “variety”, “cultivated Spinach” or “cultivar”means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowestknown rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions forthe grant of a breeder's right are fully met, can be defined by theexpression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype orcombination of genotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping bythe expression of at least one of the said characteristics andconsidered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagatedunchanged.

A “plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used todevelop one or more varieties. A breeding line is typically highlyhomozygous.

“Hybrid variety” or “F1 hybrid” refers to the seeds harvested fromcrossing two inbred (nearly homozygous) parental lines. For example, thefemale parent is pollinated with pollen of the male parent to producehybrid (F1) seeds on the female parent.

“Regeneration” refers to the development of a plant from cell culture ortissue culture or vegetative propagation.

“Vegetative propagation”, “vegetative reproduction” or “clonalpropagation” are used interchangeably herein and mean a method of takinga part of a plant and allowing that plant part to form at least roots,and also refer to the plant or plantlet obtained by that method.Optionally, the vegetative propagation is grown into a mature plant. Theskilled person is aware of what plant parts are suitable for use in themethod.

“Selfing” refers to self-pollination of a plant, i.e., the transfer ofpollen from the anther to the stigma of the same plant.

“Crossing” refers to the mating of two parent plants. The termencompasses “cross-pollination” and “selfing”.

“Cross-pollination” refers to the fertilization by the union of twogametes from different plants.

“Yield” means the total weight of all Spinach leaves harvested perhectare of a particular line or variety. It is understood that “yield”expressed as weight of all Spinach leaves harvested per hectare can beobtained by multiplying the number of plants per hectare times the“yield per plant”. “Marketable yield” means the total weight of allmarketable Spinach leaves, especially leaves that is not damaged ordiseased, harvested per hectare of a particular line or variety.

As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” are usedinterchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms orsignificantly reduced symptoms to a specified biotic pest, pathogen,abiotic influence or environmental condition compared to a susceptibleplant. These terms are optionally also used to describe plants showingsome symptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product withan acceptable yield.

“Harvest maturity” is referred to as the stage at which a Spinach leafis ready for harvest or the optimal time to harvest the fruit for themarket, for processing or for consumption. Spinach leaves may also beharvested at the “baby leaf” stage.

The term “traditional breeding techniques” encompasses herein crossing,selfing, selection, doubled haploid production, embryo rescue,protoplast fusion, marker assisted selection, mutation breeding etc. asknown to the breeder (i.e. methods other than geneticmodification/transformation/transgenic methods), by which, for example,a genetically heritable trait can be transferred from one Spinach lineor variety to another. It optionally includes epigenetic modifications.

“Backcrossing” is a traditional breeding technique used to introduce atrait into a plant line or variety. The plant containing the trait iscalled the donor plant and the plant into which the trait is transferredis called the recurrent parent. An initial cross is made between thedonor parent and the recurrent parent to produce a progeny plant.Progeny plants which have the trait are then crossed to the recurrentparent. After several generations of backcrossing and/or selfing therecurrent parent comprises the trait of the donor. The plant generatedin this way may be referred to as a “single trait converted plant”. Thetechnique can also be used on a parental line of a hybrid.

“Progeny” as used herein refers to a plant obtained from a plantdesignated NUN 06258 SPS. A progeny may be obtained by regeneration ofcell culture or tissue culture or parts of a plant of said variety orselfing of a plant of said variety or by producing seeds of a plant ofsaid variety. In further embodiments, progeny may also encompass plantsobtained from crossing of at least one plant of said variety withanother Spinach plant of the same variety or another variety or(breeding) line, or with wild Spinach plants. A progeny may comprise amutation or a transgene. A first generation progeny” or is the progenydirectly derived from, obtained from, obtainable from or derivable fromthe parent plant by, e.g., traditional breeding methods (selfing and/orcross-pollinating) or regeneration. Thus, a plant of NUN 06258 SPS isthe male parent, the female parent or both of a first generation progenyof NUN 06258 SPS. Progeny may have all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of variety NUN 06258 SPS when grown underthe same environmental conditions and/or progeny may have (be selectedfor having) one or more of the distinguishing characteristics of Spinachof the invention. Using common breeding methods such as backcrossing orrecurrent selection, one or more specific characteristics may beintroduced into said variety, to provide or a plant comprising all but1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (as listed in Table 1 and/or 2)

The terms “gene converted” or “conversion plant” or “single locusconverted plant” in this context refer to Spinach plants which aredeveloped by backcrossing wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of the parent variety orline are recovered, in addition to the one or more genes transferredinto the parent via the backcrossing technique (optionally includingreverse breeding or reverse synthesis of breeding lines) or via geneticengineering or through mutation breeding. Likewise a “Single LocusConverted (Conversion) Plant” refers to plants which are developed byplant breeding techniques comprising or consisting of mutation and/or bygenetic transformation and/or by backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of aSpinach variety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of thesingle locus having been transferred into the variety via thebackcrossing technique. In case of a hybrid, the gene may be introducedin the male or female parental line.

“Marker” refers to a readily detectable phenotype, preferably inheritedin codominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,a heritability of 1.

“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.

The term “mean” refers to the arithmetic mean of several measurements.The skilled person understands that the appearance of a plant depends tosome extent on the growing conditions of said plant. Thus, the skilledperson will know typical growing conditions for Spinach describedherein. The mean, if not indicated otherwise within this application,refers to the arithmetic mean of measurements on at least 10 different,randomly selected plants of a variety or line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a plant of NUN 06258 SPS wherein arepresentative sample of seeds of said variety is deposited under theBudapest Treaty, with Accession number NCIMB 42967.

The present invention also relates to a seed of Spinach variety,referred to as NUN 06258 SPS, wherein a representative sample of saidseed will be deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession numberNCIMB 42967.

In another aspect, the invention provides for a Spinach plant part ofvariety NUN 06258 SPS, preferably a leaf, a representative sample ofseed from said variety will be deposited under the Budapest Treaty, withAccession number NCIMB 42967.

A seed of hybrid variety NUN 06258 SPS is obtainable by crossing themale parent of said variety with the female parent of said variety andharvesting the seeds produced on the female parent. The resultant seedsof said variety can be grown to produce plants of said variety. In oneembodiment a seed or a plurality of seeds of said variety are packagedinto a container of any size or type (e.g., bags, cartons, cans, etc.).The seed may be disinfected, primed and/or treated with variouscompounds, such as seed coatings or crop protection compounds. The seedproduces a plant of NUN 06258 SPS.

Also provided is a plant of Spinach variety NUN 06258 SPS, or a leaf orother plant part thereof, produced from a seed, wherein a representativesample of said seeds will be deposited under the Budapest Treaty, withAccession Number NCIMB 42967.

Also a plant part obtained from variety NUN 06258 SPS is provided,wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of: aleaf, a harvested leaf, a part of a leaf, a fruit, a part of a fruit,pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stemor a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, aseed, a part of a seed, seed coat or another maternal tissue which ispart of a seed grown on said varieties, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, astock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.Leaves are particularly important plant parts. In a further embodiment,the plant part obtained from variety NUN 06258 SPS is a cell, optionallya cell in a cell or tissue culture. That cell may be grown into a plantof NUN 06258 SPS. A part of a variety of the invention, i.e. NUN 06258SPS (or of progeny NUN 06258 SPS or of a plant having all physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics but one, two or three which aredifferent from those of NUN 06258 SPS) further encompasses any cells,tissues, organs obtainable from the seedlings or plants in any stage ofmaturity.

The invention also provides for a food or feed product or a processedproduct comprising or consisting of a plant part described hereinwherein the plant part can be identified as a part of the plant of theinvention. Preferably, the plant part is a Spinach leaf or part thereofand/or an extract from a leaf or another plant part described hereincomprising at least one cell of NUN 06258 SPS. The food or feed productmay be fresh or processed, e.g., dried, grinded, powdered, pickled,chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed orconcentrated, juiced, pickled, canned, steamed, boiled, fried, blanchedand/or frozen, etc.

Such a plant part of NUN 06258 SPS can be stored and/or processedfurther. Encompassed are therefore also food or feed products comprisingone or more of such parts, such as canned, chopped, cooked, roasted, ina sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated, juiced, frozen,dried, pickled, or powdered Spinach fruit from NUN 06258 SPS or fromprogeny of said varieties, or from a derived variety, such as a planthaving all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 06258 SPS.

In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for a Spinach leaf ofvariety NUN 06258 SPS, or a part of a leaf thereof. The leaf can be inany stage of maturity, for example immature or baby leaf or mature. Inanother embodiment, the invention provides for a container comprising orconsisting of a plurality of harvested Spinach leaves or parts of leavesof said variety, or leaves of progeny thereof, or leaves of a derivedvariety.

In another embodiment the plant, plant part or seed of NUN 06258 SPS isinside a container, For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates,bags, cartons, Modified Atmosphere Packaging, films (e.g. biodegradablefilms), etc. comprising a plant or a part of a plant (fresh and/orprocessed) of NUN 06258 SPS or a seed of NUN 06258 SPS are also providedherein. In a preferred embodiment, the container comprises a pluralityof seeds of NUN 06258 SPS, or a plurality of plant parts of NUN 06258SPS.

The present invention further relates to a Spinach variety, referred toas NUN 06258 SPS, which—when compared to its REFERENCE VARIETYAntalia—has the following distinguishing characteristics: 1) Typicalshape of first foliage leaf; 2) Typical shape of first foliage leafbase; 3) Average leaf petiole diameter at prime market stage; 4) Averageplant spread; 5) Average cotyledon length; 6) Average first foliage leaflength; 7) Average first foliage leaf width; 8) Typical leaf bladelobing; 9) Typical leaf blade attitude; and 10) Typical intensity ofleaf blade green color, where the characteristics are determined at the5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmentalconditions. Also encompassed by the present invention are parts of thatplant.

In one embodiment a plant of NUN 06258 SPS or a progeny plant thereof,comprises all of the following morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics (i.e. average values of distinguishing characteristics,as indicated on the USDA Objective description of variety—Spinach(unless indicated otherwise)): 1) Typical shape of first foliage leaf;2) Typical shape of first foliage leaf base; 3) Average leaf petiolediameter at prime market stage; 4) Average plant spread; 5) Averagecotyledon length; 6) Average first foliage leaf length; 7) Average firstfoliage leaf width; 8) Typical leaf blade lobing; 9) Typical leaf bladeattitude; and 10) Typical intensity of leaf blade green color, where thecharacteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plantsgrown under the same environmental conditions. An example of values forthe characteristics collected in a trial run according to UDSArequirements can be found in Table 1. A part of this plant is alsoprovided.

In another embodiment NUN 06258 SPS has resistance to to Peronosporafarinosa f. spinacea race 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, 16 that is 9 (1=absent/9=present), measured according to UPOVstandard, where the resistance is derived from a combination of dominantresistance genes.

The invention further provides a Spinach plant which does not differfrom the plant of NUN 06258 SPS as determined at the 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% or5% significance level when grown under the same environmentalconditions. Thus the plants are measured in the same trial. Preferably,the trial is conducted as recommended by the USDA or UPOV. The inventionalso comprises a part of said plant

The invention also provides a tissue or cell culture comprising cells ofNUN 06258 SPS. Such a tissue culture can for example be grown on platesor in liquid culture, or be frozen for long term storage. The cells ofNUN 06258 SPS used to start the culture can be selected from any plantpart suitable for vegetative reproduction, or in a preferred embodimentcan be selected from embryos, meristems, cotyledons, hypocotyl, pollen,leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, petiole, flower, fruit, seed,stem and stalks of NUN 06258 SPS. In another preferred embodiment, thetissue culture does not contain somaclonal variation or has reducedsomaclonal variation. The skilled person is familiar with methods toreduce or prevent somaclonal variation, including regular reinitiation.

In one embodiment the invention provides a Spinach plant regeneratedfrom the tissue or cell culture of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein theregenerated plant is not significantly different from NUN 06258 SPS inall, or all but one, two or three, of the physiological andmorphological characteristics (determined at the 5% significance levelwhen grown under the same environmental conditions). Optionally, theplant has one, two or three the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics that are affected by a mutation or by transformation. Inanother embodiment, the invention provides a Spinach plant regeneratedfrom the tissue or cell culture of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein the plant hasall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of saidvariety determined at the 5% significance level when grown under thesame environmental conditions. In these cases, similarity or differenceof a characteristic is determined by measuring the characteristics of arepresentative number of plants grown under the same environmentalconditions, determining whether type/degree characteristics are the sameor different and determining whether numerical characteristics aresignificantly different (determined at the 5% significance level).

A Spinach according to the invention, such as NUN 06258 SPS, or itsprogeny, or a plant having all physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics but one, two or three which are different from those ofNUN 06258 SPS, can also be reproduced using vegetative reproductionmethods. Therefore, the invention provides for a method of producing aplant, or a part thereof, of variety NUN 06258 SPS, comprisingvegetative propagation of said variety. Vegetative propagation comprisesregenerating a whole plant from a plant part of variety NUN 06258 SPS(or from a progeny of said variety or from or a plant having allphysiological and/or morphological characteristics of said variety butone, two or three different characteristics), such as a cutting, a cellculture or a tissue culture.

The invention also concerns methods of vegetatively propagating a partof the plant of the invention NUN 06258 SPS. In certain embodiments, themethod comprises the steps of: (a) collecting tissue or cells capable ofbeing propagated from a plant of the invention; (b) cultivating saidtissue or cells to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting saidproliferated shoots, to obtain rooted plantlets. Steps (b) and (c) mayalso be reversed, i.e. first cultivating said tissue to obtain roots andthen cultivating the tissue to obtain shoots, thereby obtaining rootedplantlets. The rooted plantlets may then be further grown, to obtainplants. In one embodiment, the method further comprises step (d) growingplants from said rooted plantlets. Therefore, the method also comprisesregenerating a whole plant from said part of NUN 06258 SPS.

In a preferred embodiment, the part of the plant to be propagated is isa cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.

The invention also provides for a vegetatively propagated plant ofvariety NUN 06258 SPS (or from progeny of said variety or from or aplant having all but one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS) wherein the plant hasall of the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 06258SPS when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance levelfor plants grown under the same conditions. In another embodiment, thepropagated plant has all but one, two or three of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS when the characteristicsare determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under thesame conditions. A part of said propagated plant or said propagatedplant with one, two or three differences is also included.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing aSpinach plant part, preferably a leaf, comprising the steps of:

-   -   a. Growing a plant of NUN 06258 SPS until it develops at least        one leaf    -   b. Collecting the leaf of step a)        Preferably, the leaf is collected at harvest maturity, or,        optionally at baby leaf stage.

A plant of NUN 06258 SPS can be produced by seeding directly in the soil(e.g., field) or by germinating the seeds in controlled environmentconditions (e.g., greenhouses) and optionally then transplanting theseedlings into the field. For example, the seed can be sown intoprepared seed beds where they will remain for the entire production thecrop. Spinach can also be grown entirely in greenhouses.

In still another aspect the invention provides a method of producing aSpinach plant, comprising crossing a plant of Spinach NUN 06258 SPS witha second Spinach plant at least once, allowing seed to develop andoptionally harvesting said progeny seed. The skilled person can selectprogeny from said crossing. Optionally, the progeny is crossed twice,thrice, or four, five, six or seven times, and allowed to set seed. Inone embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing” comprisesplanting seeds of a first and a second parent Spinach plant, often inproximity so that pollination will occur; for example, mediated byinsect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually. Wherethe plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without the need fordirect human intervention other than plant cultivation. Afterpollination the plant can produce seed.

In yet another aspect the invention provides a method of producing aplant, comprising selfing a plant of variety NUN 06258 SPS one or moretimes, and selecting a progeny plant from said selfing. In one aspectthe progeny plant retains all the distinguishing characteristics of NUN06258 SPS described above. In a different embodiment the progeny plantcomprises all (or all but one, two or three) of the physiological andmorphological characteristic of NUN 06258 SPS of Table 1, and/or Table2. In a further embodiment the progeny plant comprises all physiologicaland morphological characteristic of NUN 06258 SPS when grown under thesame environmental conditions.

In other aspects, the invention provides a progeny plant of variety NUN06258 SPS such as a progeny plant obtained by further breeding thatvariety. Further breeding with the variety of the invention includesselfing that variety one or more times and/or cross-pollinating thatvariety with another Spinach plant or variety one or more times. Inparticular, the invention provides for a progeny plant that retains allthe essential morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN06258 SPS or, in another embodiment, a progeny plant that retains all,or all but one, two or three, of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 06258 SPS, optionally all or all but one, two orthree of the characteristics as listed in Table 1 and/or 2, when grownunder the same environmental conditions, determined at the 5%significance level for numerical characteristics. In a preferredembodiment, the progeny is a first generation progeny, i.e. the ovule orthe pollen (or both) used in the crossing is an ovule or pollen ofvariety NUN 06258 SPS, i.e. the pollen comes from an anther of NUN 06258SPS and the ovule comes from an ovary of NUN 06258 SPS. In anotheraspect, the invention provides for a vegetative reproduction of thevariety and a plant having all, or all but 1, 2, or 3 of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (e.g.as listed in Table 1 and/or 2).

The invention also provides a method for collecting pollen of NUN 06258SPS, comprising the steps of:

-   -   a. Growing a plant of NUN 06258 SPS until at least one flower        contains pollen    -   b. Collecting the pollen of step a)

Preferably, the pollen is collected when it is mature or ripe. Asuitable method for collecting pollen comprises collecting anthers orthe part of the anther that contains pollen, for example by cutting itoff. Pollen can be collected in containers. Optionally, collected pollencan be used to pollinate a Spinach flower.

The morphological and/or physiological differences between two differentindividual plants of the invention (e.g. between NUN 06258 SPS and aprogeny of NUN 06258 SPS) or between a plant of NUN 06258 SPS or progenyof said variety, or a plant having all, or all but 1, 2, or 3, of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (orall, or all but 1, 2, or 3 of the characteristics as listed in Table 1and/or 2) and another known variety can easily be established by growingsaid variety next to each other or next to the other variety (in thesame field, under the same environmental conditions), preferably inseveral locations which are suitable for said Spinach cultivation, andmeasuring morphological and/or physiological characteristics of a numberof plants (e.g., to calculate an average value and to determine thevariation range/uniformity within the variety). For example, trials canbe carried out in Acampo Calif., USA (N 38 degrees 07′261″/W 121 degrees18′ 807″, USA, whereby various characteristics, for example maturity,days from seeding to harvest, plant habit, plant attitude, leaf shape,leaf color, disease resistance, insect resistance—can be measured anddirectly compared for species of Spinach. Thus, the invention comprisesSpinach plant having one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of theplant of NUN 06258 SPS and which otherwise has all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the plant of NUN 06258 SPS, whendetermined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the sameenvironmental conditions. In a preferred embodiment, the differentcharacteristic is affected by a mutation, optionally induced mutation,or by transformation.

The morphological and physiological characteristics (and thedistinguishing characteristics) of NUN 06258 SPS are provided in theExamples, in Table 1 and/or 2. Encompassed herein is also a plantobtainable from NUN 06258 SPS (e.g. by selfing and/or crossing and/orbackcrossing with said variety and/or progeny of said variety)comprising all or all but one, two or three of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS listed in Table 1 and/or2 as determined at the 5% significance level for numericalcharacteristics or identical for non-numerical characteristics whengrown under the same environmental conditions and/or comprising one ormore (or all; or all except one, two or three) characteristics whengrown under the same environmental conditions.

The morphological and/or physiological characteristics may vary somewhatwith variation in the environment (such as temperature, light intensity,day length, humidity, soil, fertilizer use), which is why a comparisonunder the same environmental conditions is preferred. Colors can best bemeasured against The Munsell Book of Color (Munsell Color MacbethDivision of Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation) or using the RoyalHorticultural Society Chart (World Wide Web atrhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).

In yet a further embodiment, the invention provides for a method ofproducing a new Spinach plant. The method comprises crossing a plant ofthe invention i.e. NUN 06258 SPS, or a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or3 of the morphological and physiological characteristics of said variety(as listed in Table 1 and/or 2), or a progeny plant thereof, either asmale or as female parent, with a second Spinach plant (or a wildrelative of Spinach) one or more times, and/or selfing a Spinach plantaccording to the invention i.e. NUN 06258 SPS, or a progeny plantthereof, one or more times, and selecting progeny from said crossingand/or selfing. The second Spinach plant may for example be a line orvariety of the species Spinacia oleracea, or Spinacia tetrandra, orSpinacia turkestanica, or other Spinacia species.

The invention provides for methods of producing plants which retain allthe morphological and physiological characteristics of a plant of theinvention i.e. NUN 06258 SPS. The invention provides also for methods ofproducing a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (e.g.as listed in Table 1 and/or 2), but which are still genetically closelyrelated to said variety. The relatedness can, for example be determinedby fingerprinting techniques (e.g., making use of isozyme markers and/ormolecular markers such as Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers,amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers, microsatellites,minisatellites, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers,restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers and others). Aplant is “closely related” to NUN 06258 SPS if its DNA fingerprint is atleast 80%, 90%, 95% or 98% identical to the fingerprint of NUN 06258SPS. In a preferred embodiment AFLP markers are used for DNAfingerprinting (Vos et al. 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414). Aclosely related plant may have a Jaccard's Similarity index of at leastabout 0.8, preferably at least about 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or more(Parvathaneni et al., J. Crop Sci. Biotech. 2011 (March) 14 (1): 39˜43).

The invention also provides a plant and a variety obtained or selectedby applying these methods on NUN 06258 SPS. Such a plant may be producedby crossing and/or selfing, or alternatively, a plant may simply beidentified and selected amongst plants of said variety, or progeny ofsaid variety, e.g. by identifying a variant within NUN 06258 SPS orwithin progeny of said variety (e.g. produced by selfing) which variantdiffers from NUN 06258 SPS in one, two or three of the morphologicaland/or physiological characteristics (e.g. in one, two or threedistinguishing characteristics), e.g. those listed in Table 1 and/or 2or others. In one embodiment the invention provides a Spinach planthaving a Jaccard's Similarity index with NUN 06258 SPS of at least 0.8,e.g. at least 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or even at least 0.99.

WO2013182646, which is incorporated by reference, relates to anon-destructive method for analyzing maternal DNA of a seed. In thismethod the DNA is dislodged from the seed coat surface and can be usedto collect information on the genome of the maternal parent of the seed.This method for analyzing maternal DNA of a seed comprises the steps ofcontacting a seed with a fluid to dislodge DNA from the seed coatsurface, and analyzing the DNA thus dislodged from the seed coat surfaceusing methods known in the art. The skilled person is thus able todetermine whether a seed has grown on a plant of a plant of theinvention i.e. NUN 06258 SPS is a progeny of said variety, because theseed coat of the seed is a maternal tissue genetically identical to NUN06258 SPS. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a seedcoat comprising maternal tissue of NUN 06258 SPS. In another embodimentthe invention relates to a Spinach seed comprising a maternal tissue ofNUN 06258 SPS.

By crossing and/or selfing also (one or more) single traits may beintroduced into the variety of the invention i.e. NUN 06258 SPS (e.g.,using backcrossing breeding schemes), while retaining the remainingmorphological and physiological characteristics of said variety and/orwhile retaining one or more or all distinguishing characteristics. Asingle trait converted plant may thereby be produced. For example,disease resistance genes may be introduced, genes responsible for one ormore quality traits, yield, etc. Both single genes (e.g. dominant orrecessive) and one or more QTLs (quantitative trait loci) may betransferred into NUN 06258 SPS by breeding with said variety.

Alternatively, a single trait converted plant or single locus convertedplant of NUN 06258 SPS may be produced by the following steps

-   -   a. obtaining a cell or tissue culture of cells of NUN 06258 SPS;    -   b. genetically transforming or mutating said cells;    -   c. growing the cells into a plant; and    -   d. optionally selecting a plant that contains the desired single        locus conversion        The skilled person is familiar with various techniques for        genetically transforming a single locus in a plant cell, or        mutating said cells.

Any pest or disease resistance genes may be introduced into a plantaccording to the invention, i.e. NUN 06258 SPS, progeny of said varietyor into a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (e.g.as listed in Table 1). Resistance to one or more of the followingdiseases or pests is preferably introduced into plants of the invention:Peronospora farinosa fsp. spinaciae, e.g. to race 1-16 or new racesand/or other isolates; white rust (Albugo occidentalis), Fusariumoxysporum fsp. spinaciae, Pythium resistance, Rhizoctonia resistance,Colletotrichum anthracnose resistance, Cercospora beticola resistance,Verticillium dahliae resistance, Phytophthora ssp resistance,Stemphylium leaf spot resistance, Curly Top Virus resistance, CucumberMosaic Virus (CMV) resistance, Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV),Beet Yellows and/or Beet mosaic resistance, leaf miner resistance. Otherresistance genes, against pathogenic viruses, fungi, bacteria,nematodes, insects or other pests may also be introduced.

Thus, invention also provides a method for developing a Spinach plant ina Spinach breeding program, using a Spinach plant of the invention, orits parts as a source of plant breeding material. Suitable plantbreeding techniques are recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigreebreeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and/or genetic markerenhanced selection. For example, in one aspect, the method comprisescrossing NUN 06258 SPS or progeny of said variety, or a plant comprisingall but 1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 06258 SPS (e.g. as listed in Table 1 and/or 2),with a different Spinach plant, and wherein one or more offspring of thecrossing are subject to one or more plant breeding techniques selectedfrom the group consisting of recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigreebreeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and genetic marker enhancedselection (see e.g. Brotman et al., Theor Appl Genet (2002)104:1055-1063). For breeding methods in general see Principles of PlantGenetics and Breeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing,ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4.

The invention also provides a Spinach plant comprising at least a firstset of the chromosomes of Spinach variety NUN 06258 SPS, a sample ofseed of said variety will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42967; optionally further comprising a single locus conversion or amutation, wherein said plant has essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics of the plant comprising at least afirst set of the chromosomes of said variety. In another embodiment,this single locus conversion confers a trait selected from the groupconsisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,pest resistance, disease resistance, environmental stress tolerance,Peronospora resistance modified carbohydrate metabolism and modifiedprotein metabolism.

In one embodiment, a plant according to the invention, i.e. NUN 06258SPS may also be mutated (by e.g. irradiation, chemical mutagenesis, heattreatment, etc.) and mutated seeds or plants may be selected in order tochange one or more characteristics of said variety. Methods such asTILLING may be applied to Spinach populations in order to identifymutants. Similarly, NUN 06258 SPS may be transformed and regenerated,whereby one or more chimeric genes are introduced into the variety orinto a plant comprising all but 1, 2, 3, or more of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics (e.g. as listed in Table 1 and/or 2).Transformation can be carried out using standard methods, such asAgrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation or biolistics,followed by selection of the transformed cells and regeneration intoplants. A desired trait (e.g. genes conferring pest or diseaseresistance, herbicide, fungicide or insecticide tolerance, etc.) can beintroduced into NUN 06258 SPS, or progeny of said variety, bytransforming said variety or progeny of said variety with a transgenethat confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plant retainsall or all but one, two or three of the phenotypic and/or morphologicaland/or physiological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS or the progeny ofsaid variety and contains the desired trait.

The invention also provides a plant or a cell of a plant comprising adesired trait produced by mutating a plant of variety NUN 06258 SPS or acell thereof and selecting a plant the desired trait, wherein themutated plant retains all or all but one of the phenotypic andmorphological characteristics of said variety, optionally as describedfor each variety in in Table 1 and/or 2, and contains the desired traitand wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 06258 SPSwill be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967. In a furtherembodiment, the desired trait is selected from the group consisting ofyield, storage properties, color, flavor, male sterility, herbicidetolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance,environmental stress tolerance, Peronospora resistance, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism and modified protein metabolism.

A suitable method for inducing mutation in NUN 06258 SPS comprises thesteps of:

-   -   a. Exposing a seed, a plant or a plant part or a cell of NUN        06258 SPS to a mutagenic chemical or to radiation, wherein a        representative sample of seed of NUN 06258 SPS is deposited        under Accession Number NCIMB 42967,    -   b. Selecting a seed, a plant or a plant part or a cell of NUN        06258 SPS having a mutation    -   c. Optionally growing and/or multiplying the seed, plant or        plant part or cell of NUN 06258 SPS having the mutation.

The invention also provides a plant having one, two or threephysiological and/or morphological characteristics which are differentfrom those of NUN 06258 SPS and which otherwise has all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of said variety, whereina representative sample of seed of variety NUN 06258 SPS will bedeposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967. In particular variantswhich differ from NUN 06258 SPS in none, one, two or three of thecharacteristics mentioned in Table 1 and/or 2 are encompassed.

A part of a variety of the invention, i.e. NUN 06258 SPS (or of progenyof said varieties or of a plant having all physiological and/ormorphological characteristics but one, two or three which are differentfrom those of said variety) encompasses any cells, tissues, organsobtainable from the seedlings or plants, such as but not limited to: aSpinach leaf or a part thereof, a cutting, hypocotyl, cotyledon, seedcoat, pollen and the like. Such parts can be stored and/or processedfurther. Encompassed are therefore also food or feed products comprisinga part of NUN 06258 SPS or a part of progeny of said varieties, or apart of a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS, comprising one or moreof such parts, optionally processed (such as canned, chopped, cooked,roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated,juiced, frozen, dried, pickled, or powdered).

In one aspect a haploid plant and/or a doubled haploid plant of NUN06258 SPS, or of a plant having all but one, two or three physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS, or progeny of anyof these, is encompassed herein. Haploid and doubled haploid (DH) plantscan, for example, be produced by cell or tissue culture and chromosomedoubling agents and regeneration into a whole plant. For DH productionchromosome doubling may be induced using known methods, such ascolchicine treatment or the like.

In yet another aspect haploid plants and/or doubled haploid plantsderived from NUN 06258 SPS that, when combined, make a set of parents ofNUN 06258 SPS are encompassed herein. Thus the haploid plant and/or thedoubled haploid plant of NUN 06258 SPS can be used in a method forgenerating parental lines of NUN 06258 SPS.

Using methods known in the art like “reverse synthesis of breedinglines” or “reverse breeding”, it is possible to produce parental linesfor a hybrid plant such as NUN 06258 SPS; where normally the hybrid isproduced from the parental lines. Thus, this method introduces a toolthat was not available in traditional breeding: a skilled person cantake any individual heterozygous plant (called a “phenotypicallysuperior plant” in Example 2 of WO2014076249; NUN 06258 SPS is such aplant) and generate a combination of parental lines (reverse breedingparental lines) that, when crossed, produce the variety NUN 06258 SPS.It is not necessary that the reverse breeding parental lines areidentical to the original parental lines. Such new breeding methods arebased on the segregation of individual alleles in the spores produced bya desired plant and/or in the progeny derived from the self-pollinationof that desired plant, and on the subsequent identification of suitableprogeny plants in one generation, or in a limited number of inbredcycles. Such a method is known from WO2014076249 or from Wijnker et al.,Nature Protocols Volume: 9, Pages: 761-772 (2014) DOI:doi:10.1038/nprot.2014.049, which are enclosed by reference. Such methodfor producing parental lines for a hybrid organism, comprises the stepsof: a) defining a set of genetic markers that are present in aheterozygous form (H) in a partially heterozygous starting organism; b)producing doubled haploid lines from spores of the starting organism: c)genetically characterizing the doubled haploid lines thus obtained forthe said set of genetic markers to determine whether they are present ina first homozygous form (A) or in a second homozygous form (B); d)selecting at least one pair of doubled haploid lines that havecomplementary alleles for at least a subset of the genetic markers,wherein each member of the pair is suitable as a parental line for ahybrid organism.

Thus in one aspect, the invention relates to a method of producing acombination of parental lines of a plant of the invention (NUN 06258SPS) comprising the step of making doubled haploid cells from haploidcells from said plant or a seed of that plant; and optionally crossingthese parental lines to produce and collect seeds. In another aspect,the invention relates to a combination of parental lines produced bythis method. In still another aspect said combination of parental linescan be used to produce a seed or plant of NUN 06258 SPS when theseparental lines are crossed. In still another aspect, the inventionrelates to a combination of parental lines from which a seed or planthaving all physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN06258 SPS (when the characteristics are determined at the 5%significance level for plants grown under the same conditions).

In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for making doubledhaploid cells from haploid cells of NUN 06258 SPS according to variousmethods known to the skilled person. A suitable method is colchicinetreatment.

In another alternative aspect, the invention provides a method ofintroducing a single locus conversion or single trait conversion or adesired trait into NUN 06258 SPS comprising:

-   -   a. obtain a combination of a parental lines of NUN 06258 SPS,        optionally through reverse synthesis of breeding lines,    -   b. introduce a single locus conversion in at least one of the        parents of step a;    -   c. crossing the converted parent with the other parent of step a        to obtain seed of NUN 06258 SPS        A combination of a male and a female parental line of NUN 06258        SPS can be generated by methods described herein, for example        through reverse synthesis of breeding lines.

In an embodiment of the invention, Step b) of the above method—introducea single locus conversion in at least one of the parents of step a—maybe done through the following method:

-   -   i. obtaining a cell or tissue culture of cells of the parental        line of NUN 06258 SPS;    -   ii. genetically transforming or mutating said cells;    -   iii. growing the cells into a plant; and    -   iv. optionally selecting plants that contain the single locus        conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait.

In another embodiment of the invention, Step b) of the abovemethod—introduce a single locus conversion in at least one of theparents of step a—may also be done through the following method:

-   -   i. crossing the parental line of NUN 06258 SPS with a second        Spinach plant comprising the single locus conversion, the single        trait conversion or the desired trait;    -   ii. selecting F1progeny plants that contain the single locus        conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait;    -   iii. crossing said selected progeny plants of step ii with the        parental line of step i, to produce a backcross progeny plant;    -   iv. selecting backcross progeny plants comprising the single        locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired        trait and otherwise all or all but one, two or three of the        morphological and physiological characteristics the parental        line of step i to produce selected backcross progeny plants; and    -   v. optionally repeating steps iii and iv one or more times in        succession to produce selected second, third or fourth or higher        backcross progeny plants comprising the single locus conversion,        the single trait conversion or the desired trait and otherwise        all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and        physiological characteristics the parental line of step i to        produce selected backcross progeny plants, when grown in the        same environmental conditions.        The invention further relates to plants obtained by this method.

The above method is provided, wherein the single locus conversionconcerns a trait, wherein the trait is yield or pest resistance ordisease resistance. In one embodiment the trait is disease resistanceand the resistance is conferred to Peronospora farinosa fsp. spinaciae,e.g. to race 1-16 or new races and/or other isolates; white rust (Albugooccidentalis), Fusarium oxysporum fsp. spinaciae, Pythium resistance,Rhizoctonia resistance, Colletotrichum anthracnose resistance,Cercospora beticola resistance, Verticillium dahliae resistance,Phytophthora ssp resistance, Stemphylium leaf spot resistance, Curly TopVirus resistance, Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) resistance, ImpatiensNecrotic Spot Virus (INSV), Beet Yellows and/or Beet mosaic resistance,leaf miner resistance.

Thus, the invention also provides a combination of parental lines which,when crossed, produce a seed or plant having all physiological and/ormorphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS but one, two or threewhich are different (when grown under the same environmentalconditions), as well as a seed or plant having all physiological and/ormorphological characteristics of NUN 06258 SPS but one, two or threewhich are different (when the characteristics are determined at the 5%significance level for plants grown under the same conditions).

Also provided is a plant part obtainable from variety NUN 06258 SPS orfrom progeny of said variety or from a plant having all but one, two orthree physiological and/or morphological characteristics which aredifferent from those of NUN 06258 SPS, or from a vegetatively propagatedplant of NUN 06258 SPS (or from its progeny or from a plant having allor all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics which are different from those of NUN 06258 SPS), beingselected from the group consisting of a leaf, a part of a leaf, aharvested leaf, a fruit, a part of a fruit, pollen, an ovule, a cell, apetiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root ora part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed, a part of a seed,seed-coat or another maternal tissue which is part of a seed grown onNUN 06258 SPS, or hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a stock, a rootstock, apistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of the invention comprising the stepof detecting in the genome (e.g., a sample of nucleic acids) of theplant at least a first polymorphism or an allele. The skilled person isfamiliar with many suitable methods of genotyping, detecting apolymorphism or detecting an allele including restriction fragmentlength polymorphism identification (RFLP) of genomic DNA, randomamplified polymorphic detection (RAPD) of genomic DNA, amplifiedfragment length polymorphism detection (AFLP), polymerase chain reaction(PCR), DNA sequencing, allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes, andhybridization to DNA microarrays or beads. Alternatively, the entiregenome could be sequenced. The method may, in certain embodiments,comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms in the genome of theplant, for example by obtaining a sample of nucleic acid from a plantand detecting in said nucleic acids a plurality of polymorphisms. Themethod may further comprise storing the results of the step of detectingthe plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium

The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising orconsisting of a plant part described herein wherein the plant part canbe identified as a part of the plant of the invention. Preferably, theplant part is a Spinach leaf or part thereof and/or an extract from aleaf or another plant part described herein. The food or feed productmay be fresh or processed, e.g., dried, grinded, powdered, pickled,chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed orconcentrated, juiced, pickled, canned, steamed, boiled, fried, blanchedand/or frozen, etc. Marketable Spinach leaves are generally sorted bysize and quality after harvest.

All documents (e.g., patent publications) are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

CITED REFERENCES

-   Acquaah, Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding, 2007, Blackwell    Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4.-   Colijn-Hooymans (1994), Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 39:    211-217).-   Brotman et al., Theor Appl Genet (2002) 104:1055-1063).-   Parvathaneni et al., J. Crop Sci. Biotech. 2011 14 (1): 39˜43)-   Ren et al., In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.-Plant (2013) 49:223-229;-   Vos et al. 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414-   Wijnker et al., Nature Protocols Volume: 9, Pages: 761-772 (2014)    DOI: doi:10.1038/nprot.2014.049,-   WO2013182646-   WO2014076249-   “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Uniformity    and Stability, TG104/5 (Geneva, as last revised in 2016)-   “Objective description of Variety Spinach Spinacia oleracea L.)”,    ST-470-83 as published by the US Department of Agriculture,    Agricultural Marketing Service, Plant Variety Protection Office,    Beltsville, Md. 20705

EXAMPLES Development of NUN 06258 SPS

The hybrid NUN 06258 SPS was developed from a male and femaleproprietary inbred line of Nunhems. The female and male parents werecrossed to produce hybrid (F1) seeds of NUN 06258 SPS The seeds of NUN06258 SPS can be grown to produce hybrid plants and parts thereof (e.g.Spinach fruit). The hybrid NUN 06258 SPS can be propagated by seeds orvegetative.

The hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable. This has beenestablished through evaluation of horticultural characteristics. Severalhybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation ingenetic stability. Coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability ofthe female and male parents the Applicant has concluded that NUN 06258SPS is uniform and stable.

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety NUN 06258 SPS will bedeposited according to the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B.V. on 13 Feb.2018, at the NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB). The deposit willbe assigned NCIMB number 42967. A deposit of NUN 06258 SPS and of themale and female parent line is also maintained at Nunhems B.V.

Access to the deposits will be available during the pendency of thisapplication to persons determined by the Director of the U.S. PatentOffice to be entitled thereto upon request. Subject to 37 C.F.R. §1.808(b), all restrictions imposed by the depositor on the availabilityto the public of the deposited material will be irrevocably removed uponthe granting of the patent. The deposit will be maintained for a periodof 30 years, or 5 years after the most recent request, or for theenforceable life of the patent whichever is longer, and will be replacedif it ever becomes nonviable during that period. Applicant does notwaive any rights granted under this patent on this application or underthe Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC 2321 et seq.).

The most similar variety to NUN 06258 SPS is referred to as ReferenceVariety, a variety from Nunhems B.V. with the commercial name Antalia.In Table 1 a comparison between NUN 06303 SPS and the Reference Varietywill be shown based on a trial in the USA during the trial season 2018.Trial location Acampo, Calif., USA, Seeding date: Feb. 2, 2018

A trial of 40 plants of each variety, from which at least 15 plants orplant parts were randomly selected, will be used to measurecharacteristics. For numerical characteristics averages will becalculated. For non-numerical characteristics the type/degree will bedetermined. In Table 1 the USDA descriptors of NUN 06258 SPS (thisapplication) and the Reference Variety (commercial variety) are listed,as well as additional non-USDA descriptors listed in Table 2.

Table 3 lists UPOV descriptors of NUN 06258 SPS (this application) andthe Reference Variety Antalia (commercial variety) based on severaltrials mainly conducted in The Netherlands.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 06258 SPS as will be presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Objective description of varieties NUN 06258 SPS and ReferenceVariety Application Reference Variety Variety USDA Descriptor NUN 06258SPS Antalia PLOIDY; 1 = Diploid; 2 = tetraploid; 3 = other 1 1 MATURITYGrowth Rate: 1 = slow; 2 = medium (Long Standing Bloomsdale); n.r. n.r.3 = fast (Dixie Market) Days from planting to prime market stage 44 days(cold 44 days (cold weather) weather) PLANT (Prime Market Stage): Habit:1 = flat (Viroflay); 2 = semi-erect (Long Standing n.r. n.r.Bloomsdale); 3 = erect (Virginia Savoy) Size: 1 = small (America); 2 =medium; 3 = large (Giant Nobel) n.r. n.r. Spread (cm) 6.28 4.41 Height(cm) 1.87 1.75 SEEDLING COTYLEDON Width (mm) 3.78 3.94 Length (mm) 35.228.27 Tip: 1 = pointed; 2 = rounded 2 2 Color: 1 = light green; 2 =medium green; 3 = dark green; 4 = 2 (RHS 146B) 2 (RHS 146A) other (ColorChart Value) LEAF (First Foliage Leaves) Shape: 1 = elliptic; 2 =circular; 3 = ovate; 4 = other 3 2 Base: 1 = V-base; 2 = straight; 3 =lobed 3 1 Tip: 1 = round; 2 = round-pointed; 3 = pointed 1 1 Margin: 1 =flat; 2 = slightly curled; 3 = curled under 3 3 Upper Surface Color: 1 =light green (Hollandia); 2 = medium 2 (RHS 137B) 2 (RHS 137A) green(Giant Nobel); 3 = dark green (Long Standing Bloomsdale) (Color ChartValue) Lower Surface Color: 1 = lighter; 2 = same; 3 = darker (Color 1(RHS 146B) 1 (RHS 146B) Chart Value) LEAF (Prime Market Stage) Surface:1 = smooth (Viroflay); 2 = semi-savoy (Northland); 3 = n.r. n.r. savoy(Virginia Savoy) Shape: 1 = elliptic; 2 = circular; 3 = ovate; 4 = threesided; 5 = n.r. n.r. five-sided; 6 = arrow-shaped; 7 = asymmetricalBase: 1 = V-base; 2 = straight; 3 = lobed n.r. n.r. Tip: 1 = round; 2 =round-pointed; 3 = pointed n.r. n.r. Margin: 1 = flat; 2 = slightlycurled; 3 = curled under; 4 = curled n.r. n.r. up Upper Surface Color: 1= light green (Hollandia); 2 = medium n.r. n.r. green (Giant Nobel); 3 =dark green (Long Standing Bloomsdale); 4 = dull green (Northland) (ColorChart Value) Lower Surface Color: 1 = lighter; 2 = same; 3 = darker(Color n.r. n.r. Chart Value) Luster: 1 = glossy; 2 = dull 2 2 BladeSize: 1 = small (Long Standing Bloomsdale); 2 = medium n.r. n.r.(Virginia Savoy); 3 = large (Giant Nobel) Blade Lobing: 1 = not lobed; 2= lobed 1 1 Petiole Color: 1 = white; 2 = light yellow; 3 = light green;4 = 3 (RHS 146C) 3 (RHS 146D) medium green (Color Chart Value) PetioleRed Pigmentation: 1 = present; 2 = absent 2 2 Petiole Length to theBlade (cm) 1.06 0.98 Petiol Length: 1 = short; 2 = medium; 3 = long(Viroflay) n.r. n.r. Petiole Diameter (mm) 1.56 1.24 Petiole Diameter: 1= small; 2 = medium; 3 = large (Giant Nobel) n.r. n.r. SEED STALKDEVELOPMENT Start of Bolting (10% of plants): 1 = Early (Dixie Market);2 = n.r. n.r. Medium (Long Standing Bloomsdale); 3 = Late (Norgreen)Height of Stalk (cm) n.r. n.r. Leaves on Stalk of Female Plant: 1 = Fewor None; n.r. n.r. 2 = Many Leaves on Stalk of Male Plant: 1 = Few orNone; 2 = Many n.r. n.r. Plants that are Female: 1 = 0-10%; 2 = 11-35%;3 = 36-65%; 4 = 1 1 66-90%; 5 = 91-100% Plants that are Male: 1 = 0-10%;2 = 11-35%; 3 = 36-65%; 4 = 66-90%; 1 1 5 = 91-100% Plants that areMonoecious: 1 = 0-10% 2 = 11-35% 3 = 36-65% 4 = 5 5 66-90%; 5 = 91-100%SEED: Surface: 1 = Smooth; 2 = Prickly 1 1

TABLE 2 Application Variety Reference Variety Non-USDA descriptor NUN06258 SPS Antalia First foliage leaf length (mm) 30.69 21.1 Firstfoliage leaf width (mm) 21.88 17.7

TABLE 3 Application Variety Reference Variety UPOV characteristics NUN06258 SPS Antalia Seedling: length of cotyledon; 3 short/5 medium/7 long5 5 Leaf: anthocyanin coloration of petioles and veins; 1 1 1 absent/9present Leaf blade: intensity of green color; 1 very light/2 very 8 6light to light/3 light/4 light to medium/5 medium/6 medium to dark/7dark/8 dark to very dark/9 very dark Leaf blade: blistering; 1 absent orvery weak/2 very weak 3 4 to weak/3 weak/4 weak to medium/5 medium/6medium to strong/7 strong/8 strong to very strong/9 very strong Leafblade: lobing; 1 absent or very weak/3 weak/5 1 5 medium/7 strongPetiole: attitude; 1 erect/3 semi erect/5 horizontal 3 3 Leaf blade:attitude; 1 erect/3 semi erect/5 horizontal/7 3 5 semi-pendulous Leafblade: shape in longitudinal section; 1 concave/2 2 2 flat/3 convex Timeof start of bolting (for spring sown crops, 15% of 5 6 plants); 1 veryearly/2 very early to early/3 early/4 early to medium/5 medium/6 mediumto late/7 late/8 late to very late/9 very late Seed: spines (harvestseed); 1 absent/9 present 1 1

Table 1, 2 and 3 contain typical values. Values may vary due toenvironment. Other values that are substantially equivalent are alsowithin the scope of the invention. N.A.=not applicable; n.r.=notrecorded.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hybrid plant, a plant part or a seed of Spinachvariety NUN 06258 SPS, wherein a representative sample of seed of saidvariety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 42967. 2. The plantpart of claim 1, further defined as a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a fruit, ascion, a root, a rootstock, cutting, flower or a part of any of these ora cell.
 3. A seed that produces the plant of claim
 1. 4. A seed grown onthe plant of claim
 1. 5. A Spinach plant which does not significantlydiffer from the plant of claim 1 in all of the distinguishingcharacteristics selected from the group consisting of: 1) Typical shapeof first foliage leaf; 2) Typical shape of first foliage leaf base; 3)Average leaf petiole diameter at prime market stage; 4) Average plantspread; 5) Average cotyledon length; 6) Average first foliage leaflength; 7) Average first foliage leaf width; 8) Typical leaf bladelobing; 9) Typical leaf blade attitude; and 10) Typical intensity ofleaf blade green color; or a part of said plant.
 6. A Spinach plantwhich does not differ from the plant of claim 1 as determined at the 5%significance level when grown under the same environmental conditions,or a part of said plant.
 7. A tissue or cell culture comprising cells ofthe plant of claim
 1. 8. The tissue or cell culture according to claim7, comprising cells or protoplasts derived from a plant part selectedfrom the group of plant parts suitable for vegetative reproduction,preferably from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons,hypocotyl, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, petiole,flower, fruit, seed, stem and stalks.
 9. A Spinach plant regeneratedfrom the tissue or cell culture of claim 7, wherein the plant has all ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of NUN06258 SPS, or one characteristic that is different from NUN 06258 SPS,when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level forplants grown under the same environmental conditions, and wherein arepresentative sample of seed of NUN 06258 SPS is deposited underAccession Number NCIMB
 42967. 10. The plant of claim 9, where thedifferent characteristic is effected by a mutation or by transformation.11. A method of producing the plant of claim 1, comprising vegetativepropagation of at least a part of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein arepresentative sample of seed of said variety is deposited underAccession Number NCIMB
 42967. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein saidvegetative propagation comprises regenerating a whole plant from saidpart of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein a representative sample of seed of saidvariety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 42967. 13. Avegetative propagated plant, or a part of said propagated plant,propagated from the plant of claim 1 or the plant part of claim 2wherein the vegetative propagated plant has all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the plant of NUN 06258 SPS, or onecharacteristic that is different from NUN 06258 SPS, when thecharacteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plantsgrown under the same conditions, and wherein a representative sample ofseed of NUN 06258 SPS is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967.14. A method of producing a Spinach plant, comprising crossing the plantof claim 1 with a second Spinach plant at least once, allowing seed toform and optionally selecting progeny from said crossing.
 15. A firstgeneration progeny plant of the hybrid plant of claim 1 obtained byselfing the plant of claim 1 or cross-pollinating the plant of claim 1with another Spinach plant, wherein said progeny plant has all or allbut one, two or three of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the plant of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein a representativesample of seed of said variety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB42967, when determined at the 5% significance level for plants grownunder the same environmental conditions.
 16. A Spinach plant having one,two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics whichare different from those of the plant of claim 1 and which otherwise hasall the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant ofclaim 1, when determined at the 5% significance level for plants grownunder the same environmental conditions.
 17. The plant of claim 16,where the different characteristic is effected by a mutation or bytransformation.
 18. The plant of claim 1 further comprising a singlelocus conversion, wherein said plant has all or all but one, two orthree of the morphological and physiological characteristics of theplant of NUN 06258 SPS, wherein a representative sample of seed of saidvariety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 42967, when saidcharacteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plantsgrown under the same environmental conditions when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions, optionally wherein the single locus conversionconfers a trait selected from the group consisting of male sterility,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, diseaseresistance, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydratemetabolism and modified protein metabolism.
 19. A doubled haploid cellor plant made from haploid cells of NUN 06258 SPS wherein arepresentative sample of seed of NUN 06258 SPS is deposited underAccession Number NCIMB
 42967. 20. Use of the cell or plant of claim 19in a method for generating parental lines of NUN 06258 SPS.
 21. A methodof producing a combination of parental lines of the plant of claim 1comprising the steps of a. defining a set of genetic markers that arepresent in a heterozygous form in NUN 06258 SPS b. producing doubledhaploid lines from NUN 06258 SPS: c. genetically characterizing thedoubled haploid lines to determine whether they are present in a firsthomozygous form or in a second homozygous form; d. selecting at leastone pair of doubled haploid lines that have complementary alleles for atleast a subset of the genetic markers, wherein each member of the pairis suitable as a parental line for a hybrid organism.
 22. A containercomprising a plant, a plant part or a seed of claim
 1. 23. A food orfeed product or a processed product comprising the plant part of claim2.
 24. A method of producing a Spinach leaf, comprising: a. Growing aplant of claim 1 until it sets at least one leaf b. Collecting the leafof step a)
 25. Method for inducing mutation in the plant of claim 1comprising the steps of a. Exposing a seed, a plant or a plant part ofNUN 06258 SPS to a mutagenic chemical or to radiation, wherein arepresentative sample of seed of NUN 06258 SPS is deposited underAccession Number NCIMB 42967, b. Selecting a seed, a plant or a plantpart or a cell of NUN 06258 SPS having a mutation
 26. A methodcollecting pollen of NUN 06258 SPS comprising: a. Growing a plant ofclaim 1 until at least one flower contains pollen b. Collecting thepollen of step a)